


a star (only when i'm with you)

by moonslover



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Karaoke AU, M/M, also everybody appears i just dont want 2 tag everyone, also mentions of alcohol, if that exists lmao, sanha doesnt drink tho he sips on orange juice, side socky, the gang minus dongmin get some Singing on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:23:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16996683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonslover/pseuds/moonslover
Summary: However much he tries, Bin’s eyes find their way to Dongmin no matter what. He really is serenading him.Dongmin, who is sitting on the sofa, smiling softly and looking at Bin like he’s a star, ruining him.When he’s singing, especially right now, it feels like his dream (the one he threw away) is within reach. Because when Dongmin watches him sing, there’s nothing but admiration.-(or. the one where they're loud in a karaoke room and drag the poor employee into their shenanigans.)





	a star (only when i'm with you)

**Author's Note:**

> im in a Really Big astro mood rn so i Had to write this i love them so much h 
> 
> and if you to know what songs i used go to the end notes hehe

“Let’s go to the karaoke!” 

Bin sighs, not really feeling up for socializing when he has about ten assignments due in the span of three days. Myungjun always brings up ideas at the worst timings. Once, he suggested going _fishing_ in winter, when lakes were frozen over. And another, he thought of going to a ski resort in July. Ski resorts turn into _golf_ ones in summer. 

“Why the long face, Bin?” Myungjun knows he has a _bomb_ of things to do, yet he still asks. He’s already forming a plan in that big head of his on how to convince him to come along, Bin is sure of it. 

He raises an eyebrow at Myungjun, pointing lifelessly at his laptop screen, showing the five words he’s typed for his essay so far. “I think you know why, hyung.” 

Like Bin is a joke, he simply laughs, slapping him on the back. 

“See! Look at you - you’re stressed, you need to take a break, Bin-ah.” Another thing Myungjun knows is that he’s been taking breaks as soon as he attempted to sit down and finish his first assignment. 

“No, what I need is some peace and quiet - which means you need to _leave_.” Bin says, pushing Myungjun away.

Huffing, he crosses his arms, making Bin wonder if he really is the oldest in their friend group. “You can’t kick me out! This isn’t your apartment!” 

Bin raises his eyebrow again, something he does a lot whenever Myungjun is around, and fake snorts. “Right, and pigs can fly.” 

Immediately, his eyes light up and Bin groans. “They actually can! Here, let me show you this video, Sanha sent it to me.” He jumps back to take his place next to Bin again, sticking closer than he did the first time. 

The video, to his surprise, is actually really interesting. 

“What the heck? How is that possible?” Bin finds himself asking, essay long forgotten. 

Myungjun practically shakes in excitement, like he’s wanted to talk to somebody about flying pigs and their mechanics ever since viewing that video. “I _know_ , it’s so cool!” 

It’s only when he takes a deep breath - the way he does before he starts talking rapid fire does Bin remember the five pathetic words on his document. 

“Okay, wait. Hyung, I promise we can go to the karaoke tonight, we can even discuss your flying pigs there but I _have_ to finish this and another thing before that.” Myungjun nods, kind of like a preschooler listening to the teacher. “So I need you to get out of _my_ apartment, and not come back until it’s time or whatever.” 

“Fine, but you better be ready by eight thirty! I booked the room for a session an hour after that!” Of course he’s already booked a room, Myungjun knew Bin would agree. 

Well, he always does, no matter how busy he is. He loves singing and dancing so it’s not that all surprising that Bin would say yes. It’s still annoying though. 

“Thanks, bye.” He waves goodbye to Myungjun, leaning back onto his chair once the overexcited adult leaves. 

In his spinning chair, Bin turns back to face his laptop and the cursed words, before putting his head into his hands. 

Fuck college. 

There’s a hundred and one things he’d rather be doing, sitting inside a lecture hall everyday is not one of them. Where did his dream of becoming a _star_ go to? Bin doesn’t know, but he wishes it would come back. 

Maybe, just maybe, in a parallel universe - he doesn’t give up. Maybe, somewhere, he’s doing what he loves; dancing, singing, _performing_. 

Maybe. 

It’s gotten to the point where he constantly daydreams about a life where he isn’t a college student rushing to finish his school work. And instead, an idol - loved by fans, surrounded by music. 

Too bad the only thing surrounding him is endless deadlines. 

Sighing again, Bin finally gets back to work. No point dreaming about a life that will never happen anyway. 

 

When he finally, _finally_ , finishes his two assignments, it’s already six. Minhyuk hasn’t returned with food, which is worrying because Bin is extremely hungry. Stretching, he reaches for his phone and drops his house mate a quick text, demanding him to hurry. 

In the meantime, he stands and bends backwards, loving the way his back cracks like he’s a glow stick. He really needs to get back into dancing, he’s going to lose his touch at this rate. 

He’ll have to ask Minhyuk to book a dance studio soon, he misses the sounds of shoes squeaking against the floor and he misses _moving_. 

Impatient that he hasn’t replied, Bin grabs a set of clean clothes and heads to the shower instead of waiting. Time passes by faster when he’s showering and belting out random lyrics. 

Not to brag, but he’d probably be the main or lead vocalist if he was in a group. His range is _amazing_ , as he’s been told. 

(Usually by the big hundred on the television screen in karaoke rooms, but _real people_ have said so too.) 

It’s truly a wasted opportunity. 

As he’s struggling to put on a pair of skinny jeans - after coming out of the shower refreshed, Bin smells it. Food. 

Without even putting on a top, he collects his dirty clothes, throwing them into the laundry basket and stomps out of the bathroom. 

“At least dry your hair first, you animal.” Minhyuk is standing at their small dining table, already unpacking the boxed dishes. 

Bin grabs the utensils that come with the dishes and without even waiting for Minhyuk, starts eating. 

“Thanks for waiting, you’re the best.” Minhyuk does the exact same when it’s Bin’s turn to buy food back for them, so he knows there’s no malice in his words. 

Inhaling his rice like a vacuum, he doesn’t stop eating, only pausing once when his wet hair gets in the way and drips water into his food. 

Irritated, he pushes his hair up, happy he can finally see. 

They eat in complete silence, the only sounds being the chewing of meat and if Myungjun were here, he’d fill the room with his ridiculous conversation topics. 

It’s hilarious how they even became friends. Minhyuk and Bin used to attend the same dance school, there, they dreamt of becoming famous artists but eventually they both quit. 

Now, Minhyuk is in his first year of college while Bin is in his second. Myungjun was somebody he met by chance. It was actually a silly occurrence. 

They had fought over ice cream. Bin desperately wanted the last popsicle they were selling in the convenience store, as did Myungjun, apparently. In the end, Myungjun got it, though he had to promise (bribe) Bin (with) a meal. 

Because of that, they got closer and a year later, Bin doesn’t know what his life would be like without Myungjun. 

Sanha was through Minhyuk as they attended the same high school before he graduated and he bashfully introduced him to Bin. It was cute seeing Minhyuk, known for his coolness, get so flustered. 

And through Myungjun, they met Jinwoo. Now, they’re a close group of five and if Bin knows Myungjun, they’ll all be going tonight. 

“It’s a school day tomorrow, is Sanha coming later?” Bin asks, even though he already has the answer. Where Minhyuk goes, Sanha follows. 

They’re already done with their food, despite having started fifteen minutes ago and he loves how fast they both eat. 

As Minhyuk washes the empty plastic boxes so they can reuse them, he replies, sounding way too fond. “Of course he is, although he really needs to stop staying up.” 

Bin laughs, loving the way Minhyuk gets all soft when they talk about Sanha. 

“If you already knew, don’t ask!” He splashes water at him, offended. “How’s _your_ love life going?” 

“What love life?” 

He’s genuinely curious, not sure what Minhyuk could be talking about. Bin hasn’t dated another girl since high school, where he got rejected because she found out he wasn’t in love with her, but with someone else. 

A boy in the same class. 

Naturally he doesn’t like that boy anymore, the whole ordeal being three years ago or so, but he’s still wary to love. 

“Don’t act stupid, I’m talking about the theatre major.” Bin flinches at the mention of _theatre major_ , and glares at Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk, who shouldn’t know about Dongmin. 

Nobody does, honestly. He’d rather die than tell anyone, about his well, _thing_ for that man. It’s not exactly a crush, since he doesn’t even _know_ Dongmin, it’s just his face is really pretty. 

“What theatre major?” He continues playing dumb, hoping Minhyuk will just drop it. There’s nothing to say anyway, Bin only sees Dongmin as eye candy, since they have a class together. 

He’s never actually talked to the guy so there isn’t anything. There’s no _love_ \- Bin does _not_ have a love life. 

Rolling his eyes, Minhyuk puts a hand onto the sink counter and faces Bin, in an attempt to intimidate him, probably. “You know who I’m talking about. Lee Dongmin. He’s in your Asian Film class.” 

How he knows so much is a mystery to him. “Minhyuk, are you perhaps in love with me? Don’t worry, I’m not going to replace you with Dongmin.” 

“Shut up, I’d rather fling myself into Han River than be in love with you, of all people.”

Sweet. 

Putting a hand to his heart, Bin tries to change the subject, “I’m touched, you’d do that for me?” 

Minhyuk doesn’t look impressed, still waiting for Bin to reply and he sighs. If only Myungjun could walk through their front door with Sanha right about now. 

“We’re here!” Both of them snap their necks to look at their front door so fast he’s surprised their heads are still attached. He’s also surprised he’s a psychic. 

_Yes_ , Bin celebrates in his head. With Sanha around, Minhyuk will stop trying to pry information that doesn’t exist from him. 

“What were you guys talking about so seriously?” Sanha asks, unaware that is the _last_ thing he wants him to do.

Minhyuk grins, pleased with the invitation. “Well you see, we were just discussing Bin-hyung’s love life.” 

Myungjun’s eyes light up again, this time not at flying pigs but because of him. He’s a huge gossip, and would kill for information like who his friends have a crush on. 

Bin wants to run away. 

“Bin’s love life? Sign me up, we have two hours to kill before Jinwoo comes and picks us up.” 

They’re already taking seats at the dining table and god, he wants to retreat into his room and continue those assignments. Anything but this, please. 

“As I told Minhyuk,” He clarifies, glaring at said man, “I do not have a love life, the person he’s about to bring up is just someone I like to look at.” 

Myungjun laughs, clearly not buying it. Although it’s nothing but the truth. 

“Minhyuk-hyung! Tell us what you know!” Sanha says, knowing damn well Minhyuk won’t say no. 

They’re demons, all of them. 

Cracking his knuckles, as if he has that much to talk about, he leans in. In an overly serious voice, Minhyuk provides whatever he’s found out from God knows who. 

“According to my sources, I’ve learnt that Bin-hyung likes Dongmin, a theatre major. Apparently, he watches him like a creep every time they’re in that film class together. He’s weird.” 

That last part was totally unnecessary. 

Myungjun nods, “So like a stalker?” 

Sanha looks at him with faux shock and Bin wants to punch them all. 

“There’s more,” Minhyuk adds. 

_There’s more?_ Why does he have shit Bin himself doesn’t even recognize. 

He admits to staring, not like he’s the only one - everyone is entranced by Dongmin’s looks. Bin has never done anything else though, so there shouldn’t be more. 

Now he’s interested. Bin finds himself waiting for Minhyuk’s next line, getting invested like they’re not talking about him. 

“It’s said that Dongmin actually likes someone too.” Well, nobody, especially Bin wants to hear that. 

It’s not all that surprising, of course he’d have a crush on somebody, it happens. This is perfect, Bin can give up on Dongmin and pretend he’s never considered dating him. 

A chorus of oh’s and ah’s fill the room and Bin wonders if Minhyuk knows who the somebody is.

“So? Do you know who this Dongmin likes?” Bless Myungjun and his inability to stop asking questions. 

Having the topic change to one where it’s no longer about him has made Bin want to join in too. 

“I do,” Minhyuk looks smug, and Bin would really like to know how his friend gathers all this despite being a freshman. “But I’m not telling.” 

All of them move to surround Minhyuk and it’s almost comical how Myungjun and Sanha want to fight him for not telling. 

They don’t even know who Dongmin is. 

“I don’t care about who he likes, what I do want to find out is how you know all of this, Park Minhyuk.” 

Minhyuk smirks, ignoring the two people standing at his sides. “I’m just a better college student, hyung, what can I say?” 

“I’m definitely going to beat you at karaoke later, watch me, fool.” 

Laughing, Minhyuk waves at his declaration of war like it’s a game but it’s not. Bin is completely serious about competitions, he’s going to win. 

“Did you guys forget we’re here or something?” Myungjun speaks up, having moved to the sofa as the gossiping has ended. “Jinwoo is coming over in five minutes, change if you need to.” 

“And Bin, please put on a shirt.” 

Oh, he’d forgotten. 

“Shit, I have to shower.” Minhyuk gently shifts Sanha aside, and runs to the bathroom. 

It’s still endearing how he treats Sanha, even if he’s an annoying little shit. 

They move on from Bin and Dongmin and onto random topics, like how Myungjun is doing, having finally started working full time. He complains, declaring he’s going to order alcohol later. Sanha lights up at the mention of beer and Bin pats him on the head. 

“Children will get orange juice.” 

Disgustingly, Minhyuk finishes his shower in two minutes. 

“Why’s Sanha pouting?” He asks, drying his hair and Bin cringes at this side of Minhyuk. When your childhood friend is so hopelessly in love, sometimes it’s gross to see. (Even if he did call him endearing before.)

“None of your business, let’s go.” Myungjun answers for him, clearly dying without his alcohol. 

They exit the apartment, making sure they haven’t forgotten anything and clamber down the stairs noisily. 

Jinwoo’s car is already waiting for them downstairs, it’s a really old thing, but it makes do. Though it’s a wonder that it hasn’t broken down under the weight of all of them yet. 

As Bin opens the door to the front, he’s greeted by a big bag. 

“What’s this?” He asks, carrying it and placing it onto the space in front of him. 

“Just a bag of drinks so we don’t have to spend money later.” Bin hums, opening the bag to see endless cans of Coke and other drinks. There’s even orange juice for Sanha. 

“Won’t we get kicked out for bringing in drinks though?” Sanha peers over the seat to look at the bag, like a curious cat. 

Jinwoo visibly tenses. “Probably not…?” 

Their whole group combined only have one brain cell, evidently. 

Confidently, he adds on in an attempt to save himself, "Nobody's getting kicked out tonight, I'm here as your sense of reason after all."

Total silence.

Myungjun, always the one with creative ideas, suggest a method of sneaking the drinks in. “It’ll be fine, we can just put one or two cans into our pockets and nobody will notice a thing!” 

Nobody agrees. 

“Just get Bin-hyung to carry the bag, nobody is going tell him to stop, he’s been working out lately.” Minhyuk was of course, pushing the responsibility onto him. “It’s already with him anyway, if Bin does get kicked out, it’s not our problem.” 

What a great best friend. 

Now _that_ , everybody agrees with and he whines, wanting to join in the fun too. 

He’s not looking forward to smuggling the drinks in. 

* * *

 

Although he’s excited to sing, Bin isn’t excited to enter. 

The rest of them exit the car happily, without a care in the world because they’re not the ones in charge of the _illegal_ goods. He hates his friends. 

Thinking they could at least enter the karaoke place together, he searches for them, only to see that they’re already inside. 

_Fuck my life._

As he approaches the glass doors, he starts sweating in the autumn weather. This is more stressful than his finals. 

Through the glass doors, Bin can see his friends _very clearly_ , pointing and laughing at him. It probably looks like a bullying advertisement, out of context. 

Whatever, what’s the worst that could happen? Since it’s located a little away from the main city and where his university is, there’s no way he’ll run into anybody he knows. 

It’s late too, and students are probably at home studying. Hopefully. 

Finally, he pulls the glass door, furrowing his brows when the door doesn’t open. Inside, Myungjun laughs so loud, Bin can hear it from outside. 

Oh. It’s a _push_ kind of door. 

The night is going fantastic. 

Grumbling, he _pushes_ the door open and confidently strides in. 

“Our room is A-06, let’s go, Binnie!” Myungjun shouts, and everybody suddenly starts sprinting to the room, leaving Bin in the lobby.

With the ridiculously big bag. 

Pretending the person behind the counter doesn’t exist, he quickly walks past it, only to be stopped once he reaches the hallway. 

A-06 is right _there_ , in front of his eyes but someone is blocking the way to his haven. 

Sighing, he looks away from the door and at the person in front of him to see who the brave employee is and almost drops the bag. 

_Lee Dongmin._

“Excuse me sir, you’re not allowed to bring in food and drinks from outside.” Dongmin - who apparently works at this karaoke place, informs. 

Oh the shame. 

To make matters worse, all four of his friends have their heads popped out of the door, giggling at his demise. 

_They knew._

“U-Uh,” Going well, Moon Bin. “Sorry, we didn’t know…” 

He doesn’t have an excuse ready, what is he going to _do_. Lee Dongmin, even when dealing with shitty customers looks ethereal and Bin can’t stand being so close to him. 

“It’s alright, we’ll have to take your bag of drinks away though.” He’s already reaching out for the plastic bag and before Bin can register what he’s doing, he tugs it away from him. 

“No!” 

His ears are on fire, and he can hear Myungjun snorting somewhere behind Dongmin. This is the worst night of his life. 

“Sorry, but we need to take it away.” Dongmin reaches for the bag again, currently cradled against Bin’s chest. 

Upon seeing that, Dongmin understands Bin isn’t going to just _hand_ the bag over and drops his arm. He isn’t letting him go pass, however, and now it’s awkward as fuck again. 

“How about this,” Dongmin starts talking, after two whole minutes of silence (though Bin’s heart is beating so loudly he’s certain everybody can hear it), “you can keep your drinks, but you’re not allowed to order any from us.” 

That sounds reasonable, and he’s thankful Dongmin is so nice about it. Sure, it’s his job, but a man can _dream_ that there is somebody out there with a great personality _and_ face. 

What an ideal man. 

Bin nods, glad the mess is over only to widen his eyes as Myungjun steps out, hands on his hips. 

God, no. 

“Can we still order alcohol?” 

That takes both of them by surprise, and Bin relaxes, thinking he was going to bring his not crush up. 

“Definitely, what would you like?” Dongmin quickly gathers his bearings, returning to his professional self. 

Myungjun orders about five beers, for whatever reason, while Bin sneaks past Dongmin and into the safety of the room. 

He didn’t dare look at Dongmin as he walked past. 

Hopefully he doesn’t know of Bin’s existence and doesn’t recognize him. The last thing he wants is being called out in class for smuggling in drinks to a karaoke place. 

Inside, he’s greeted by more obnoxious laughter. 

“I hate you guys so much,” He drops the bag down onto the table, and collapses onto the sofa. “Especially you - Park Minhyuk.” 

The brat only smiles innocently as he opens a can of Coke, not bothering to say anything. 

To get his mind off whatever just happened, Bin moves to the song list and queues BTS songs, as well as other ones he knows the others want to sing. 

“Minhyuk, which song do you want to do for our sing off?” 

No reply. 

He turns around, only to see Minhyuk talking to Sanha, lost in their conversation. How nice. 

Feeling evil, he picks a song that’ll be hard for Minhyuk’s vocal abilities and passes the machine to Myungjun and Jinwoo, leaving them to choose their songs. 

Before starting, he grabs a can of Coke and downs half of it. 

Time to forget about his sad life. 

 

After singing three songs in a row, Bin starts to feel the strain on his throat. As he’s scavenging for water in the plastic bag, he observes how his friends have turned out in just half an hour.

Myungjun isn’t drunk yet, but he’s definitely getting there. Jinwoo is their designated driver so he can’t even drink a single sip of alcohol, since he gets drunk easily and Sanha is singing a slow song Bin can’t recognize. A voice joins in and he realizes he’s singing with Minhyuk - cute. 

When he manages to find the bottle of water, their door opens. 

All five heads turn to the door, wondering who it could be. 

It’s Dongmin. 

“Here’s the beer you ordered,” He informs, staring at Myungjun. “Again.” 

Since Bin’s standing up they all give him the signal to grab the drinks from the employee and he grits his teeth at them. 

“Thank you.” Bin says to Dongmin because he’s polite and because he never got the chance to thank him for not kicking them out. 

“Hey!” Myungjun yells, all of a sudden and Bin starts to worry. This could not be good. “Do you want to join us?”

Everybody seems to _love_ the idea as they make space on the sofa, Sanha furiously patting it while Minhyuk dramatically waves his hand towards the empty spot. 

“I’m working right now…” Why did they even think he’d agree? Nobody would just accept, lest they wanted to lose their job. 

“But we need one more person to form perfect pairs, we’re going to do a pair sing-off.” Jinwoo explains and Bin can’t remember them ever mentioning that. 

So much for being their voice of reason. 

“It’ll only take a minute! Or three, not too long, promise.” Myungjun continues, determined to make Dongmin say yes. 

As all of this goes on, Bin doesn’t speak up. He only watches as Dongmin succumbs to peer pressure and kind of feels bad for him. However, when Myungjun has a ridiculous idea, there’s no talking him out of it. 

It’s a lost cause. 

“I…” Dongmin fumbles, trying to make up an excuse. Sighing, he nods. “Alright, but only for the three minutes you brought up.” 

Defeated, he moves to the spot where Sanha pointed at and Bin realizes that’s right next to him. 

Not awkward at all. 

“So-” 

“Jinwoo and I will go first!” Myungjun proudly declares, cutting Dongmin off. 

He already knows what he’s trying to do. 

Minhyuk talks next, grabbing a glass of beer. “You should have one, they taste good.” 

What kind of shitty convincing was that?

Sanha nods, following suite. 

“I agree! Even though I didn’t drink it.” 

While Myungjun and Jinwoo sing a song Bin isn’t paying attention to, too hyper aware of Dongmin next to him, the younger two continue forcing the beer onto Dongmin. 

“Look, Bin-hyung will drink a glass too!” Minhyuk’s suddenly pushing the glass towards him and he wants to scream. 

Dongmin looks at him expectantly, begging him to help out and how can Bin say no to that?

He grabs the glass, trying his best to sound natural, “Oh yes, definitely. Love this stuff, cheers!” 

If Dongmin is going down, he’ll at least go down with him since it’s partly his fault.

(It really isn’t, all his friends are just terrible and he has to take responsibility.)

With an awkward smile, Dongmin clinks his glass with his and practically gulps it down. 

“Woah dude, you’re looking real thirsty! Have some more!” Minhyuk is an enabler. 

A very bad enabler, but it works anyway as Dongmin accepts the next glass without any more questions. 

 

Myungjun and Jinwoo end their duet, getting a score of ninety-two and Bin feels his competitive spirit rise. 

“Hey, let’s beat them.” He pokes Dongmin’s side, not really feeling as awkward anymore, with the alcohol’s help.

With a smile, he nods, grabbing the microphone from Jinwoo and Bin’s heart bursts. 

He’s basically tipsy at this point yet he still looks so good. 

Bin isn’t sure if he wants to be him or be with him. 

Together, they select a song and as per Dongmin’s suggestion, they choose ‘When You Love Someone’ by Day6. 

His heart almost bursts again, because of the song’s context and Bin actually can’t wait to hear him sing. 

If Dongmin has a lovely voice too, Bin isn’t sure if he’s real. 

The song starts and everybody cheers. 

They move in sync, to the beat of the slow melody and as if they can read each other mind’s, know whose part is whose. 

When Dongmin starts singing, Bin’s breath is taken away. He sounds amazing and despite slurring his words a little, it’s perfect. 

> _"you’re so pretty when you smile_  
>  _so every time you lose that smile  
>  even if i have to give my all  
>  i want to give it back to you."_

Somewhere, as the second verse starts, Bin notices he’s facing away from the screen and at Dongmin. 

He’s singing this song, for Dongmin. 

> _"You’re such a soft-hearted person_  
>  _Every time you are silently in pain  
>  Even if I have to give my all  
>  I want to make you smile again."_

The cheers from his friends fade and all Bin can focus on is Dongmin’s voice, and the way they sound together in the bridge. 

Initially, they keep silent during the confession scene, but at everybody's insistence, they re-enact it. Dongmin ends up being the one talking, taking on the role of Sungjin in the music video and Bin combusts. Even if it's not real, it still manages to make his heart leap and his face red. 

He wishes this moment could last forever, but it ends all too soon. 

The whole room erupts in cheers, Myungjun energetically slamming the tambourine against his palm. Sanha and Minhyuk make weird catcalling noises and Jinwoo claps like a normal person would. 

Thankfully. 

Bin nudges his partner, unable to control the grin on his face. “You sing really well, you can _not_ be real.” 

With Sanha and Minhyuk loudly discussing their second duet, he’s glad no one else hears what he just said. 

He basically called Dongmin perfect.

Perfect Dongmin flushes, perhaps from the alcohol but Bin kind of hopes it’s from what he said. 

“Thank you…” It’s cute when he gets shy, Bin finds. “But I must get going now.” 

“You can’t!” Reminiscent to the way he stopped Dongmin from taking the bag of drinks, Bin clutches onto his arm like it’s he’s lifeline. “Just stay for a while longer, please?” 

Giving his best puppy dog eyes, he stares up at Dongmin, unsure of why he’s even trying so hard to make him stay. 

It’s not like Bin wants to get him fired, he just feels like if he doesn’t do something _now_ , he’ll never get another chance like this. 

Even though they share a class. 

In the darkness, Bin can see Dongmin’s pupils shaking, not quite sure what he should do. He sort of feels bad for taking advantage of him like that, when all his friends have already done the same. 

“I mean- Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.” His hand is still gripping Dongmin’s arm, he can’t let go. “If you don’t mind, we would love to have you stay and sing with us. Your voice _really_ is something else.” 

Dongmin swings his arm, forcing Bin’s hand off and his heart drops along with it. 

Except instead of turning around like he thought he would, Dongmin takes a glass of beer - an extra Myungjun ordered, and dumps it down in one shot. 

“If I’m going to get fired, might as well go off with a bang, right?” He’s smiling at Bin, holding his glass and his heart dies in that moment. 

Regardless, he grins so hard his cheeks hurt. It’s probably bad that he’s _happy_ over getting somebody fired, but staying means Dongmin doesn’t mind being around them. 

It feels like acceptance, because Bin knows there are people out there who actually hate his friend group, with the way they are. 

So he’s happy, overjoyed, _thrilled_ that somebody doesn’t mind. Even after getting pressured into joining them, he - Dongmin, out of his own will is going to sit in the overly loud karaoke room with them. 

He’ll let himself have this. 

* * *

 

Everything proceeds as planned, or well, as they always do. They never have a proper plan when they go out together - it’s always a bunch of spontaneous things followed by the one planned activity. 

After a few more drinks, Dongmin loosens up and stops glancing at the door every five minutes. 

Currently, he’s half shouting half slurring the words to an English rock song Bin never thought he’d actually listen to. 

He had pegged Dongmin as someone who enjoyed classical music, or at the very least, slow songs.

The rock song is actually much to his own taste, and if he were less set on never not having a crush on Dongmin, he’d be certain they’re soulmates. 

The song ends, and he stumbles back onto the coach next to Bin. Everybody had decided it’d be a good idea to do a solo song right in the front, where the standing microphone was. 

“You good?” He whispers to the obviously drunk man slouching like he’s one with the furniture. 

Dongmin only nods, making grabby hands for the water bottle Bin has been holding, using it as a stress ball. 

(Because sitting _this_ close to someone he’s admittedly been watching for a while now is a little bad for his nerves.) 

Like it’s been doing for the past hour, his heart does a somersault at the gesture, finding it extremely endearing. 

He passes the bottle (now badly crushed) to Dongmin and focuses on Jinwoo screaming into the mic instead. 

While he pretends to cheer Jinwoo on, Bin thinks about what song he’s going to do. He’d like to close their session with impact, if possible. 

And he also wants Dongmin to see how good he is, which kind of sounds like he wants to serenade him. 

Deep in his thoughts, Jinwoo finishes way too quickly and suddenly it’s his turn. 

Slapping his neck a few times, Bin manages to psych himself up for the last song. 

“Minhyuk, pass me the thing, I need to choose my song.” 

Minhyuk, illuminated by the disco lights, only smiles wide. 

Oh no. 

Nobody even bothers to reply to him. Before he knows it the song that whoever (probably Minhyuk) has chosen is starting. 

Immediately, he recognizes it. 

It’s a song by another of their favourite group and it’s so _cheesy._

The upbeat melody starts, and Bin curses Minhyuk to hell. Although he did ask for it, choosing ‘Shoot Out’ for him to do got him this revenge.

However much he tries, Bin’s eyes find their way to Dongmin no matter what. He really is serenading him. 

Dongmin, who is sitting on the sofa, smiling softly and looking at Bin like he’s a _star_ , ruining him. 

When he’s singing, especially right now, it feels like his dream (the one he threw away) is within reach. Because when Dongmin watches him sing, there’s nothing but admiration. 

Admiration that Bin wonders comes from _where_ , if they’ve never spoken. 

It might just be his wishful thinking, but he believes they’ve met before - somewhere, somehow. They’re drawn to each other, like a moth drawn to a flame and it’s confusing. 

Even with everything going on in his head, Bin manages to nail the song perfectly, almost like he’s trained to. 

Everything feels automatic, especially when he’s singing and dancing. 

Studying doesn’t happen on autopilot, unfortunately. 

The whole room explodes in cheers, even though he’s sure nobody other than Dongmin was actually listening. 

Just like that, two hours have gone by and their time is up. 

(Their time in the room, or their time together?) 

“Well, I’ll be bringing these three children home. See you, Bin.” Jinwoo suddenly says, already pushing Myungjun, Sanha and Minhyuk out the door. 

None of them are complaining. 

“What? I live with Minhyuk though…?” He throws a hard glare at the back of Minhyuk’s head, betrayed. 

Minhyuk turns, smirking. “Oh? Didn’t I tell you? I’ll be staying at Sanha’s house tonight - bye hyung!” 

And just like that the four of them move out, leaving Bin to not only pay, but to clean up and go home by himself. 

Sighing, he goes back into the room and sees Dongmin passed out on the couch. Bin isn't even sure how he can just fall asleep despite being wide awake minutes before. 

(Which is funny because _he_ does that all the time.) 

Assessing the situation, he comes to a conclusion that he has to: one, clean up the mess. two, pay for the room. three, bring Dongmin home. 

Despite being a pretty messy individual, Bin motivates himself enough to throw the empty cans into an extra plastic bag Jinwoo brought along and packs the unopened ones into the bag they used. 

Since it isn’t technically his job to clean up, he leaves everything as it is on the table and turns to the real problem. 

Lee Dongmin. 

Somebody should write a tutorial on how to handle an unconscious employee who skipped work just to participate in karaoke. He’s still in the horrendous red uniform and Bin isn’t sure if he’s supposed to go collect his things from the locker room.

Scratching his neck out of habit, he looks around the room, hoping some manual will magically appear. 

Nothing changes, and Dongmin remains snoring softly on the sofa. 

Great. 

Bin walks out of the room, searching for any other employee. When he reaches the front counter, there is someone there, to his relief. 

Before he can think of what to say, since he can’t out Dongmin like that, the employee speaks up. 

“Are you going to bring him home? You can leave his stuff here, he’ll come back in the morning anyway.” The employee - a woman in her late forties, Bin guesses, smiles at him softly. 

It mirrors Dongmin’s same expression, back in the karaoke room and he briefly considers the thought of this woman being related to him.

 _No way_ , he scoffs in his mind and bows his head in appreciation. Bin’s slightly concerned that she’s not even the least bit worried a random boy is taking an employee home but he brushes that off and pays. 

With a slightly better idea of what to do, he hypes himself up for the inevitable as he re-enters the room.

How is he going to haul Dongmin home if Bin doesn’t even know where he stays?

Sighing for the nth time that night, he finally realizes this must have been what the rest were planning by going home together. Especially Minhyuk, who would be staying over at Sanha’s place. Bin should’ve known. 

He can probably afford a taxi if he walks a little further into the city. At where the karaoke place is, there’d be no one willing to pick him up. The streets are already deserted at this hour. 

Which would’ve been fine if he didn’t have extra baggage with hm. 

Praying Dongmin weighs less for his height, Bin slowly shifts him until he’s safely on his back. 

All that exercise sure came in handy. 

Waving goodbye to the woman as best as he can, he pushes the door open with his body, thankful it isn’t a pull kind of door. 

The walk to the area closer to the city isn’t that far, but Bin isn’t sure how fast he can go with Dongmin - who is looking way too comfortable, on his back. 

It’s cute though, he’ll admit. 

 

Everything is going smoothly, even if he’s ready to drop Dongmin any second now. Bin doesn’t know if he wants him to wake up, since it’d be pretty awkward. How do you explain you’re simply taking someone who can’t even be considered a friend home, and not kidnapping them? 

With the way Dongmin constantly buries his face into Bin’s (thankfully washed) hair, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening anytime soon. 

Which is probably way better for him. 

Not quite good for his heart though, as Dongmin keeps doing _that_ but he’s cold in the late autumn weather so Bin understands. 

Doesn’t make it any less embarrassing for him though.

He has to wonder if Dongmin is doing it on purpose, in order to make Bin’s body temperature rise. If so, it’s working. 

By the time he reaches roads with actual cars on them, his face is red (he’s sure of it, even if he can’t see it at the moment) and he’s sweating. 

Finding a taxi isn’t hard anymore, and he hails one immediately. Gently pushing Dongmin into the backseat, Bin informs the driver of his place and he leans against the window, grateful for the break. 

But he can’t even rest, having nobody to wake him up when they arrive so he stares out the window watching street lights and buildings pass by in a flurry. 

A soft song plays through the taxi’s radio and Bin doesn’t have the energy to try and remember what it is, though it sounds familiar. 

It’s relaxing, and he forgets all about the person sleeping soundly beside him. Of course until the driver pulls up outside his apartment. 

Bin pays, not really bothered that he has to foot the bill after all Dongmin has had to go through, being with them and carries him on his back again. 

Opting for the lift, because he’d rather not break his spine climbing up six storeys, he manages to fish his keys out from his pocket with one hand. 

At last he’s home, and going out really seems to be a big mistake as soon as he drops Dongmin onto his bed. It’s a wonder how he hasn’t startled awake yet. 

(Maybe it’s because Bin has been treating Dongmin with the utmost care, ensuring he doesn’t drop or shake him.) 

Now that he’s laying on Bin’s bed, it feels wrong. 

But those pants and that shirt _must_ be uncomfortable to sleep in so he digs out a pair of sweats and a hoodie, swearing he doesn’t have any ill intentions, only wanting the best for Dongmin’s rest. 

After changing him carefully and quietly (despite wanting to scream every few seconds), Bin is relieved that he didn’t wake up because wow - would that be awkward, he retreats to the kitchen. 

He searches for their box of medication, wanting Dongmin to at least have some pills in case he wakes with a headache. Grabbing a bottle of water - because they’re just that lazy, from the counter Bin heads back into his room and places both items on the nightstand. 

As much as Bin would love to get some rest on his actual bed, he chooses their sofa instead. There’s always Minhyuk’s room, but if Dongmin were to wake up, he wouldn’t be there to greet and explain to him the situation. 

If he wakes up, Bin will at least be in the living room, where Dongmin would have to walk past. Honestly, he’s going to stay up - just in case he wakes up before sunrise like a weird person. He wants to make sure Dongmin understands why he’s in a stranger’s house, lest he gets the wrong impression of Bin. 

That would be the last thing he wants. 

Hence he convinces himself to _stay awake_ , _stay awake_ , laying down anyway because Bin can pull all-nighters too, even in sleeping position. 

He won’t fall asleep, no way. 

_Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake._

* * *

 

The next time he’s aware of his surroundings, there’s light filtering in through the curtains. 

Oh shit. 

Sitting up instantly, Bin surveys the area, gathering his bearings. Extremely aware of what happened yesterday, and his determination to not fall asleep, he stumbles off the couch and into his room. 

All there’s left is the imprint of somebody’s body once having been on the bed and nothing else. 

The water bottle is gone, so are the pills. His blanket is neatly folded and Bin snorts. Dongmin _would_ be an early riser, though it’s already ten in the morning so maybe it’s just him who wakes up late.

Devastated, he walks back into the living room and collapses onto the sofa. Maybe he’ll just go back to sleep and pretend nothing ever happened. There aren’t any classes until four anyway. 

Turning to a more comfortable position, he ends up facing the coffee table and sees a piece of paper held down by loose change.

Bin doesn’t recall leaving any money on the table, no less a note. 

Hurriedly, he sweeps the coins away and picks the note up. 

> _this is lee dongmin, thank you for last night and taking care of me. i assume the bottle of water is for me, as well as the pills so i’ve taken them. also, thank you for the change of clothes. i will make sure to return them the next time we meet. this is all i have on me at the moment, please accept it._
> 
> _p.s. sorry if i did anything embarrassing._
> 
> _p.p.s. you’re cute when you’re sleeping._
> 
> _p.p.p.s. here’s my number for more efficient communication. thanks a lot once again, moon bin :-)_

Hundred of things go through his mind as he tries to process the information. He probably looks like the math meme Minhyuk shows him all the time, and he can’t deny it. 

What on Earth?

First of all, Dongmin’s handwriting is so _pretty_. Bin brings his face closer to the paper, in an attempt to get a better look without his glasses. 

Secondly, he called Bin _cute_. Is it weird that he really appreciates the compliment, even though it meant that Dongmin was watching him sleep? 

It might be too much of an ego-booster to say he was _watching_ Bin sleep though, since he could’ve just seen him on the way out. 

Still. The word _cute_ rings in his head. 

If it weren’t for the fact that his throat is incredibly dry, he would be screaming. 

Last but not least, Dongmin gave Bin his number. God, he really needs to shout, let it out, _anything_. Dongmin wants to keep in touch, sure, it’s just because he wants to return the borrowed clothes but it’s a _number_. 

Bin can’t even go back to sleep now, he’s on some kind of high, if he doesn’t tell somebody about this he’s going to explode. 

(Euphoria, they call it.) 

 

It’s only when he’s sending a text to their group chat does he realize he never told Dongmin his name.

**Author's Note:**

> songs that appeared/are mentioned in order: 
> 
> [when you love someone - day6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWQ1xOfUNYQ) (binu duet)  
> [something to dream about - myka, relocate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuMWArryaoc) (dongmin solo)  
> [shoot out - monsta x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS10Zz49FHE) (minhyuk solo)  
> [shine - pentagon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu2yQ1zYDYU) (bin solo)
> 
> tell me what you think! feedback is appreciated ^^  
> (also i didnt rly think of songs for the others so let me know what you think theyd sing lol)


End file.
